


Met me under the pink blossom tree

by FynnieThePooh



Category: ONEUS (Band)
Genre: Best Friends, Bittersweet, Car Accidents, Closure, Confrontations, Cute Kids, Death, Dreams and Nightmares, Flashbacks, Gen, M/M, Mentioned Lee Keonhee, My First AO3 Post, My First Work in This Fandom, Realization, Sad, Supportive mom, Time Skips, Trees, hwanwoong is sad, hwanwoong needs closure, i know i wrote hwanwoong wrong in the beginning but please read over that, i write fluff too, lee keonhee is tall, my dear people these are the type of stories I write lmao, no just kidding, please go easy on me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:02:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26952574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FynnieThePooh/pseuds/FynnieThePooh
Summary: Hwangwoong keeps having dreams about his late best friend, he finally finds out what they mean.
Relationships: Son Dongju | Xion/Yeo Hwanwoong
Kudos: 6





	Met me under the pink blossom tree

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first work on ao3, I already posted this on wattpad. My name there is @/FynnieThePooh. This story contains some triggering subjects like: Death and nightmares. Read at your own risk. I hope you enjoy this story.

_"bye bye Keonhee, see you at school." A young cheerful kid beamed at the tall boy in front of him. His neck almost hurt from looking up but he didn't mind. "Yeah, see you at school Hwang-ie, it was fun that you could stay over" The taller said and smiled widely at his friend, the two six-year-olds had played games and baked cookies today._

_Hwangwoong waved at his best friend and started skipping away. He looked at his arm for a brief second to make sure his moms phone number was still visible. Keonhee didn't live very far away from Hwangwoong, the small boy only had to cross a park and one street and he was at his home but as all moms, Hwangwoong's mom was just protective. He skipped through the park with a wide smile spread across his face, the straps of his backpack tightly held in his small hands._

_The boy looked at the beautiful pink blossom trees, he always called them 'pink poofs' because the leaves were pink and poof because it was just a fun word he liked, just like the trees. The boy liked trees, unlike his friends who always said mario kart was way better than stupid trees._

_Halfway through the park he heard something, sniffles. He stopped and pouted softly at the thought of someone crying. His eyes scanned the park until they landed on a small curled up ball. It seemed like a boy was crying, his back against the tree and head hidden in his knees, a small ball of brown hair popped up from the knees once every few seconds._

_Hwangwoong pouted more as he looked at the boy against the tree for a while before waddling his way over to the boy._

_"hey"_

_The boy's head shots up at the words coming from Hwangwoong's mouth. The two kids met eyes, making the standing boy smile widely. The other boy sniffled softly and rubbed his eyes, trying to get his tears away. Hwangwoong's bottom lip quivered at the sight of the young boy crying and quickly crouched down, reaching for the other's face and wiping his tears with is small thumb._

_"Why are you crying?" Hwangwoong asks in a cute voice and sits down with crossed legs, still smiling softly._

_"Those boys won't let me play with them" The other boy said softly and pointed his finger at a group of boys by the swings, quickly pulling his hand away to cover his mouth, his mom always told him it was rude to point at people._

_Hwangwoong knitted his eyebrows and huffed, those boys weren't nice. He looked at the boys at the swings and then back at the other and asks "How about you play with me" he smiled at while standing up. He reached his hand forward to let the other get a hold of it._

_"I'm Hwangwoong" he beamed cheerfully. The other boy stares for a while with big round puppy eyes before taking his hand._   
_"Dongju" The other mumbled and stood up._

_"Hi Dongju, I hope we can be friends"_

\-------------------------------------------

_"Dongju! Dongju!"_

_The voice of twenty-year-old Hwangwoong blasted through the streets as he ran towards his best friend. Fear and shock was evident in his voice, he stumbled over his feet and pushed through the big crowd. The boy was struggling as all the people surrounding his friend were so much bigger than him, the adults trying to push him back from the scene. Hwangwoong didn't budge and kept pushing, throwing his small fists around and kicking people in places they shouldn't be kicked._

_After pushing himself through the shield of people he saw the most terrifying sight he would ever see in his life. His best friend laying on the ground in a puddle of blood, eyes closed and body limp. Blood streamed over his head and soaked in his clothes. The small boy fell to his knees besides the boy, hands gripping onto the bloody t-shirt. He was still getting pulled away from the other as he did so._

_"Stop touching me! He's my best friend!" He yelled as he hysterically started to push the people away. But can you blame him? His best friend laid in front of him, bleeding out. He wrapped his arms around the unconscious boy and cried in his chest, his hands were bloody as he gripped onto his best friend._

_"Dongju don't leave me, please don't leave me. I can't lose you buddy, I can't. Where did our promises go, Doongdoongie. You promised to show me all the stars in the sky, promised to take me on a road trip when we're older. Dongju! This isn't fair doongie, you're too young to leave. Please hang in there, please, Dongju~!" He wailed in the boy's chest and cradled his body._

_Deep down he knew that he lost him, he knew it very well. He knew that he was holding onto the hollow dead body of his best friend. Life knocked out of the younger at a too young age. It was unfair, so unfair. Hwangwoong wished he could do something, wished that somehow his pleads and tears would reincarnate his friend._

_But he knew that he couldn't._   
_he had lost the other._   
_He lost his best friend._

\-------------------------------

Hwangwoong jolts in his bed, eyes flying open as he shot up into a sitting position. He rubbed his eyes and took a glance at his alarm clock, 2 AM. He sighed and lied back down, closing his eyes and laying a hand on his chest. His heart was racing and breath erratic. He tried to calm himself down with taking deep and slow breaths.

He got this a lot lately, dreams about his late best friend. It terrified him, it confused him. It happened years ago and in year of living without the other only once did he have a dream about what happened. But now he had dreams about him almost every night, not a night passed where he wouldn't dream about the boy. It were also always the same dreams, it started with how he met the boy, it was one of his favorite dreams. He would remember how shy Dongju was and what a softy he was back when they were younger. The second dream was a whole different story though, it was horror. The memory of seeing his best friend die still fresh in his memory.

Hwangwoong normally woke up after the second dream, all sweaty and disturbed with tears streaming down his face.

Sometimes there was a third dream. It was the most confusing dream of the three. The dream started with him standing in a black room, a gigantic one, In the middle of the room a pink blossom tree, standing there in all its glory. Against the tree was a boy, chained up against the tree, he was around the same age as him. It didn't take Hwanhwoong long to figure out that that boy was Dongju. In the dream Dongju would look afraid and restless, his head spinning around and screaming things while tugging on his restraints. Hwangwoong always tried to run towards the boy, pull him in a hug and keep him close. But as he comes closer and closer Dongju would start crying, every step he took harder harder. Blood began appearing on the boy and before Hwangwoong could do anything the boy was dead, just like in real live. The pink leaves of the tree would turn grey and the tree died. That's when his dream ends. Hwangwoong hated the dreams he got, they were terrifying and felt too real for his liking. The dreams always made him feel like he was the cause of his best friend's death, like he could've done something but every time he was too late.

With shaking legs he got up and walked out of his room. Carefully, he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. While slowly sipping on some cold water he let his thoughts drawl to places he knew he shouldn't let them. He was fully aware that these weren't normal dreams, he should talk about this to someone, people always say dreams mean something and Hwangwoong knew this would mean something, he should really talk. But with who?

While being so deep in thought he didn't notice his mom entering the kitchen. Shooting a worried look to her son. "Woongie" She softly called out and put a hand on his shoulder making Hwangwoong flinch and snap out of his train of thought. He looked at his mom through teary eyes.

"Are you okay?" His mom asked and places her other hand on his other shoulder too.

Hwangwoong wanted to say yes, he really did. He wanted to say he just couldn't sleep and was drinking some water, but he couldn't get the words out of his mouth. For once the word "I'm okay" wasn't easy to say, for once lying about what he felt seemed so wrong and not the right way to go. So that's how he broke down, tears running down his cheeks rapidly as he fell in his mother's embrace. Holding her close and seeking comfort in her safe arms. Hwangwoong felt his mother jolt a bit in surprise but quickly hugged him back, running a hand through his hair while trying her best to comfort her son.

"Honey, what's wrong?" She asked softly and left a kiss on the top of her son's head.

Hwangwoong hiccuped and took some time to answer. "Dongju" He managed to choke out, voice barely a whisper. he pulled away from his mom's chest only slightly. Mrs Yeo hummed in a questioning tone and cupped her son's cheeks wiping his tears with her thumbs.

"I-I've been d-dreaming about him a-a lot lately" he mumbled and looked down.

The silence of his mom was a sign for him to keep going.   
"Dreams about how we first met, dreams about how he died and..." He fell silent. His mom could see the tears start to build up in her son's eyes again and let out a sound of contentment before nodding and pulling Hwangwoong in a tight hug, patting his head and telling him reassuring words.

Hwangwoong was contemplating if he should tell his mom about the last dream he sometimes had, if it was relevant to tell her. Eventually he settled on telling her, having made the conclusion that it would be damn relevant. So he explained, every single part of it. He let out no details even if they were absolutely horrible, he wanted his mom to understand the absolute fright he feels whenever he has that dream. Being the supportive mom Mrs Yeo, she listened through all of it, running a comforting hand through her son's hair and rubbing his back gently. It wasn't a nice story, she had to admit but she was more than happy that Hwangwoong told her. As a mom, she felt obliged to always be there for her son and noticing that her son had been more tired than usual lately made her extremely worried. Hence why Hwangwoong telling her about his dreams was such a relief for her heart.

Mrs Yeo was quiet for a little while before she sighed. "I think that you need closure, he was suddenly gone, you weren't able to tell him goodbye and move on from him." She spoke out her thoughts about the situation. It was true, hwangwoong was devastated after what happened, he had needed more than a week or two before he finally got back on track again.

In those two weeks Hwangwoong had visited Dongju's grave everyday, cried over and over again and blamed himself endlessly for what happened. One day Hwangwoong was done with crying and feeling sad, he put the accident and feelings to the back of his head and tried to ignore it. He ignored the way his chest clenched when he saw something that reminded him of the younger, he just blatantly ignored everything that happened in the hope it would help him move on.

Yet, with Dongju's first death anniversary that was coming soon, everything started coming back. The sadness, guilt and crying. It made hwangwoong realise that ignoring isn't the same thing as moving on.

_So that's how he decided to search for closure._

\------------------------------------

Hwanwoong didn't really know where he should start. Finding closure was surprisingly hard when the person you're trying to find closure with is dead, but there was still something bubbling in Hwanwoong that was making fun of him, like it should be super obvious how he could find it. Even though he was determined he should find a way to get closure, he was also still a teenager who likes to be lazy and do nothing all day. Ending up in the small male laying on his bed, scrolling through his phone and just chilling while still somewhere deep in his mind trying to find a way to get closure.

Hwanwoong didn't like to admit it but he did not have the energy to think about ways _at all_. Yes, he was desperate but also sad and tired, he had already crushed his mind because of the matter and was at the moment too tired of it to think about it. When stumbling upon his photo gallery to search for a picture to send to a friend he saw the awful lot of albums he had.

He huffed, he should really clean his phone. After sending his friend the picture he opened his gallery again, starting with the first album he made his way through all the photos he had. Deleting some or placing them in other albums. When he reached the last album he had, his brain stopped working.

It was an album full of photos with him and Dongju.

With tears in his eyes he scrolled through the album. Staring at the photos of his best friend. He chuckled softly at the photo of them at prom, they were literal kids back then. With a bittersweet smile he reached the last photo, staring at it and wondering why his friend was ripped of his life at such a young age.

What did he do to deserve _that_.

Putting his phone away, he sighed deeply. Staring up at his ceiling with glossy eyes for a while before he gasped, sitting up abruptly and letting at a string of sounds without any real meaning in them. He tugged at his hair and smiled softly.

He knew how to get closure.

\-----------------------------------

"are you sure you want to do this Woong? You haven't been there in a very long time"

Hwanwoong sighed, his mom was so worried about his plan and he disliked it. "Yes mom, I'm sure. I wanna do this" he said and smiled softly at his mom. She looked back with a reluctant expression before turning towards the road in front of her and turning on the car.

"Okay then, let's go to the tree" she said and clamped her hands onto the steering wheel.

While the car ride wasn't very long, it still was silent and awkward, the mom and her son having no idea what to talk about. The soft distorted sound of the radio playing one of the many overplayed songs keeping the tension at ease and somewhat bearable. Hwanwoong was about to ask how much longer it was going to take when he saw the all too familiar park. He turned towards his mom who was smiling at him softly. "I'll wait here" she said and patted her son's thigh in support. Hwanwoong nodded, taking in a deep breath and opening the car door. With small steps, he made his way towards the small park. Observing the place as all the memories came flooding in. Tears burned behind his eyes as he looked at his old home and the still broken swing on the playground.

Over the years some things have changed but for the most part everything was the same, just like the massive pink blossom tree. One of the only one's in this park, and the place where he met Dongju when he was six-years-old. He didn't remember it being this big. Hwanwoong was sure he could still see the younger sitting against the tree, face hidden between his knees while playing with yellow flowers that surrounded him. It was a picture Hwanwoong would never be able to forget.

Something about sitting on the spot felt very odd. It felt like Dongju was really still there with him, staring at the way Hwanwoong was struggling to keep in his tears, there was this energy around the tree that just didn't feel as empty as everywhere else Hwanwoong goes. The grass felt damp under his small hands as he dragged them across the ground. He leaned his head against the tree and sighed, "I wish you were here" he mumbled as he burst out into tears. The small male's body forming into the same position Dongju had sat in.

"I miss you, so much. Really, without you everything is dull. I miss you rambling about planets and stars for hours and playing Mario-Kart with you... maybe that's because my nephew sucks at Mario-Kart" he chuckled softly at his statement and shook his head.

Flower petals fell down from the tree and surrounded him in a comforting manner, like saying they understood his sadness and wanted to be there with him. Hwanwoong wasn't much of an spiritual person, but this just felt different. Maybe, for the sake of filling the space Dongju once occupied he wanted to believe Dongju was one of those petals. He felt comfort in holding the petals just like he felt comfort in holding Dongju, felt comfort in the thought that his best-friend wasn't completely gone. As long Hwanwoong has those petals, from this specific tree, Dongju isn't completely gone.

This was Dongju's tree, and only Dongju's. This tree held all the memories he had with Dongju. It had seen more of the two of them then any other object or human had seen.

Hwanwoong liked that, liked the thought of Dongju not being completely gone and still somewhere and agreed with himself that just this once, he'll believe in spirituality. It isn't even Dongju being one of those petals, no, that sounded kinda disturbing to Hwanwoong. It is the memories they held and heavy emotional load, it felt nice being able to physically hold onto a memorie while moving on from the person and body. Move on from Dongju as a human, but not move on from the memories he has with him.

"I miss you, but I can't keep chasing what isn't there anymore. Instead I have to hold onto the things that are still there and the memories, make sure that I won't forget you. I know you're still there, I don't know where but you're here, in someway. I love you my dear Dongju, I always will, and I hope you love me too".

Hwanwoong left the tree with a handful of petals and a soft smile on his face.

That night, the third dream happened again. It was different, Dongju wasn't chained up or screaming, Hwanwoong wasn't running and the atmosphere in general was nicer. Dongju stood a few meters away from the tree, looking up into the darkness. Petals surrounded him and the chains on the tree were broken open. Dongju was smiling and swaying from side-to-side freely without any restraints.

Hwanwoong was able to stand directly next to Dongju, the tree didn't die and neither did Dongju. His best-friend was free now.

Dongju looked at Hwanwoong with a smile and said:

**_"I love you too Woongie-Hyung. I always have, and always will"_ **

**_Hwanwoong never got those terrifying dreams again._ **


End file.
